Profile Information
Tharon Howard
Professor, Professional Communication & Information Design Program Director
He/Him
Contact
Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
Office: 617 Strode
Email: tharon@clemson.edu
Education
Ph.D. English, Purdue University (1992); M.A. English, Purdue University (1987); B.A. in English, UMKC (1985)
Courses
Digital Publishing and Media Production, Content Strategy, UX Design, Classical Rhetoric, Visual Communication, The Rise of Social Media
Tharon Howard earned his doctorate in English from Purdue University where he studied rhetoric & composition and literary theory. He is the former director of the Usability Testing Facility. He has taught seminars in usability testing, visual communication, digital publishing, rhetoric and professional communication, rhetoric of web publishing, professional writing, and writing proposals & grant applications.
Awards
Fellow Elevation, Society for Technical Communication, May 2023.
Ken Rainey Award for Excellence in Research, Society for Technical Communication, May 2017.
Extraordinary Service Award, Usability Professionals Association, 1998
J. R. Gould Award for Excellence in Teaching Technical Communication, Society for Technical Communication, May 2011.
Selected Professional Works
Books (Published)
UX Writing: Designing User-Centered Content (with Jason Tham and Gustav Verhulsdonck). New York: Routledge & Taylor/Francis. Oct. 2023. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003274414
Design to Thrive: Creating Social Networks and Online Communities That Last. Burlington, Massachusetts: Morgan Kaufmann, 2010. Print.
Visual Communication: A Writer's guide. 2nd Ed. Co-authored with Susan Hilligoss. New York, New York: Longman, 2001
Electronic Networks: Crossing Boundaries. Co-Edited with Chris Benson, Dixie Goswami, and Walter Gooch. New York, New York: Heinemann Boynton-Cook, 1999.
The Rhetoric of Electronic Communities. Greenwich, Connecticut: Ablex, 1997. Print.
Journal Articles & Book Chapters (Published)
“Focusing on Governance for a Real Client in a Content Strategy Course.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (May 10, 2023) pp 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816231171850
"Extending Design Thinking, Content Strategy, and Artificial Intelligence into Technical Communication and User Experience Design Programs: Further Pedagogical Implications." (with Jason Tham and Gustav Verhulsdonck). Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. Volume 52, Issue 1 (Oct. 2022), pp 428-459. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816211072533
“Using Student-Experience Mapping in Academic Programs: Two Case Studies.” User Experience as Innovative Academic Practice. Eds. Kelli Cargile-Cook and Kate Crane. WAC Clearinghouse/CSU and UC University Press, 2022, pp 87-108. DOI: 10.37514/TPC-B.2022.1367.2.05
“Encouraging Student Advocacy in Social Justice Classrooms.” (with Xiaobo Wang and Chalice Randazzo). Reflections: A Journal of Engaged Writing and Rhetoric. Volume 22.1 (Aug. 16, 2022), pp 105-131. https://reflectionsjournal.net/2022/08/encouraging-student-advocacy/
“Teaching Content Strategy with Real Clients.” Content Strategy in Technical Communication. Eds. Guiseppe Getto, Jack T. Labriola, Nathan Franklin, and Sheryl Ruszkiewicz. Taylor & Francis/Routledge, 2019, pp 119-153.
“Teaching Usability Testing: Coding Usability Testing Data.” Teaching Professional and Technical Communication: A Practicum in a Book. Ed. Tracy Bridgeford. Utah State UP, 2018. DOI: 10.7330/9781607326809.c011
“The Viability of Virtual Communities.” Wiley Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction. Ed. Kent Norman. Wiley, 2018.
“’Constructivist’ Research Methods for Experience Architecture and Design.” (with Heather Christensen). Eds. Liza Potts and Michael Salvo. Rhetoric and Experience Architecture. Parlor Press. 2017.
“Building Usability and User-Experience Testing Facilities in Professional and Technical Communication Programs.” Programmatic Perspectives 7.2 (Fall 2015), http://www.cptsc.org/pp/vol7-2/vol7-2.pdf.
“Are Personas Really Usable?” Communication Design Quarterly 3.2 (Feb. 2015): pp 20-27.
“Accommodationist and Constructivist Approaches to Academic-Industry Partnerships in a Usability and User-Experience Facility.” Academic-Industry Relationships and Partnerships: Perspectives for Technical Communicators. Eds. Tracy Bridgeford and Kirk St. Amant. Baywood Publishing, 2015, pp. 157-77.
“Journey Mapping: A Brief Overview.” Communication Design Quarterly 2.3 (May 2014): 10-13.
“The UTEST Community: Celebrating 20 Years of a Safe Space for UX Discussions.” (with Laurie Gray, Alicia Hatter, Jurek Kirakowski, Dick Miller, Janice Redish, Maggie Reilly, Carol Righi, and Carl Zetie). Journal of Usability Studies 9.1 (Nov. 2013): 1-13.
"Intentional Bias: An Empirical Study of “Interpellative” User Experiences on University Donor Websites." With Alicia Hatter. Computers and Composition 30.3(2013): 226-241.
“Intellectual Properties in Multimodal, 21st-Century Composition Classrooms” Copy(write): Intellectual Property in the Writing Classroom. Eds. Danielle Nicole Devoss and Martine Courant Rife. Parlor Press, 2012, pp 107-129. (see http://wac.colostate.edu/books/copywrite/chapter6.pdf).
“Evaluating Multimodal Texts in the Academy.” Informational Spaces. Eds. Loel Kim and Jason Swarts. Digital Communication Series, Texas Tech University Press. Forthcoming.
“Using DISC Profiles to Get New Teams Talking.” User Experience Management: Essential Skills for Leading Effective UX Teams. Arnie Lund. Morgan Kaufmann Publishing, 2011, pp. 184-5.
“Innovation and Collaboration in Product Development: Creating a New Role for Usability Studies in Educational Publishing.” With Michael Greer. Usability of Complex Information Systems: Evaluation of User Interaction. Eds. Michael Albert and Brian Still. Taylor & Francis Publishing. 2011.
“Innovation and Collaboration in Product Development: Creating a New Role for Usability Studies in Educational Publishing.” With Michael Greer. Usability of Complex Information Systems: Evaluation of User Interaction. Eds. Michael Albert and Brian Still. Taylor & Francis Publishing, 2010. 67-86.
“Unexpected Complexity in User Testing of Information Products.” IEEE PC 2009 Proceedings. 2009.
“Unexpected Complexity in a Traditional Usability Study.” Journal of Usability Studies, Volume 3, Issue 4, August 2008, pp. 189-205.
“Usability Testing in Academic Programs: A Report from Five Universities.” (with David Dayton, Susan Feinberg, Roger Grice, and Judy Ramey). 52nd Annual Society for Technical Communication Conference Proceedings. May 2005.
“Best of the Best of the Best: Winners of STC’s International Competitions.” (Contributor). Intercom (July/August 2004): 6-10.
“Reflection on ‘Who ‘Owns’ Electronic Texts?’” Central Works in Technical Communication. Eds. Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart Selber. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Digital Works, Videos, CDs & DVDs, Software (Published)
"Advantage of Online Communities for Businesses." South Carolina Business Review. Radio interview with Mike Switzer. South Carolina Public Radio. Sept. 16, 2010.
Academic Integrity Initiative. (with Dan Wueste, Mark Charney, and Chip Egan). Robert J. Rutland Center for Ethics, Clemson University, 2002.
Conference Presentations (Delivered)
“Design to Shrivel: How to Ensure that a Social Network Won’t Last.” Pop Culture of America National 2023 Conference, San Antonio, April 8, 2023.
“Stasis Theory, Star Trek V, and the State of Creative Thinking in Social Media.” Popular Culture Conference of America, Online due to COVID, April 15, 2022.
“Integrating UX Writing into TPC Pedagogies.” CPTSC 2022 Conference, Colorado Springs, October 28, 2022.
Enter“UX Writing: How Would You Teach Writing for User Experience?” (with Jason Tham and Gustav Verhulsdonck). Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI), Online due to COVID, Feb. 28, 2022. new publication text here.
“Using Content Strategy to Create Student Advocacy.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. Accepted for 2020 and rescheduled for 2021 due to COVID.
Editors’ Roundtable. Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Accepted for 2020 and rescheduled for 2021 online due to COVID.
“Iteration and Silo-Breaking.” Popular Culture of America, Philadelphia, Accepted 2020 and rescheduled for 2021 online due to COVID.
“Preparing for a Career in the User Experience Industry” (with Kylie Carlson). Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI), held online due to COVID, Feb. 22, at 10:00am-12:00pm EDT.
“Exploring Accessibility in Instructional Design” (with Nicole Stout). Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI), held online due to COVID, Feb. 23, at 10:00am-12:00pm EDT.
“Inaugural Lunch with an Editor.” Editors in TPC, held online on Feb. 15, 2021.
“Redesigning an Academic Department Thru a Content Strategy Course.” CPTSC, Online due to COVID, Oct. 29, 2021.
Keynote Speaker. “Designing Communities as Decision-Making Experiences.” RGP Life and Learning Virtual Conference. Atlanta, August 24, 2021.
CPTSC Editor’s Roundtable, Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, held online due to COVID, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020 at 3pm EDT.
“Is China Still Hungry?” (with Jason Tham, Quan Zhou, Rich Rice, Sam Dragga, and, Xiaoli Li). Society for Technical Communication, held on online due to COVID, May 18, 2020 at 2:00pm ETD.
“Usability & UX Research in the Future: Mapping the Minefield.” Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI), Norfolk, VA, 2020.
“When Is Persona Design Accountable?” IEEE ProComm, Aachen, Germany, 2019.
“Mapping the Minefield: Usability Testing in the Future.” Louisiana Tech Usability Studies Symposium (LaTUSS), Shreveport, 2019.
“Global TC Educators: A Round Table.” Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, West Chester, PA, 2019.
Editors’ Roundtable. Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, West Chester, PA, 2019.
“Russian Hacking in The Americans: Then and Now.” Popular Culture of America, Washington, DC, 2019.
“Teaching Content Strategy in Client-Based Classrooms.” CPTSC, Minneapolis, Oct. 4, 2018.
Editors’ Roundtable. CPTSC, Minneapolis, Oct. 4, 2018 (invited).
ATTW Grad Student Workshop Presenter. Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Kansas City, March 13, 2018
Editors’ Roundable. Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Kansas City, March 13, 2018
“Usability Testing of Cengage Learning’s SAM Online Help System” (with Doris Xue Ding, and Valerie Smith). 2018 Annual Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI), Greenville, NC, Feb. 26, 2018
“A Usability Study of Clemson University’s Registrar Website” (with Abigail Maxim, Ciara Marshall, Doris Xue Ding, and Valerie Smith). 2018 Annual Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI), Greenville, NC, Feb. 26, 2018
"Designing for Portal Community Summit.” Living Physics Portal NSF Grant, University of Maryland, Oct. 16-17.
“Perspectives on IP in TC: Methods for Addressing How Intellectual Property Policies Can Affect Technical Communication Programs.” CPTSC, Savannah, GA, Oct. 6, 2017.
Editors in Technical Communication Roundtable. CPTSC, Savannah, GA, Oct. 6, 2017.
“Communicating with Real Clients through User Story Maps.” SIGDOC ACM, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Aug. 12, 2017
Research Network Roundtable Leader. SIGDOC ACM, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Aug. 12, 2017.
“Meet the Editors.” SIGDOC ACM, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Aug. 12, 2017.
“We Can Charge for That? The Ins-and-Outs of Creating and Running a Usability Lab.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, Portland, OR, March 17, 2017.
Editors’ Roundtable. Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Portland, OR, March 15, 2017
“What Do Online Technical Communication Faculty Need to Know about Intellectual Property Policy.” 2017 Annual Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (SCCI), Greenville, NC, Feb. 26, 2017
"Designing Online Communities that Last." Boise St. Technical Communication Program. March 10, 2016.
"Beyond Usability Testing: Two Research Methods for 'Constructivist Design.'" co-presented with Heather Christiansen. Symposium on Communicating Complex Information. Feb. 23, 2016, Greenville, NC.
Keynote Speaker. “How Did ‘Usability Testing’ Become a Dirty Word?” Texas Tech University Research Seminar, Lubbock, 2015.
“Giving TPR Credit for Digital Scholarship.” Invited CCCC Dialog (with Joyce Carter, Marc Bousquet, and Seth Kahn). Conference on College Composition and Communication, 2015.
“Online Communities that Last.” MacEwan University Distinguished Lecture Series, Alberta, 2015 “Developing a ‘Fair’ Intellectual Property Policy for a University.” Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, Logan UT, 2015. “Are User Experiences ‘Accommodated’ or ‘Constructed?’” IEEE Professional Communication Conference, Limerick, Ireland, 2015
“Are User Experiences ‘Accommodated’ or ‘Constructed?’” IEEE Professional Communication Conference, Limerick, Ireland, 2015
"Examining Trends and Exploring Partnerships in Professional Communication." Round Table. IEEE-PC 2015, July 15, 2015, Limerick, Ireland.
“Unexpected Consequences of Building a Usability Testing Lab.” Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, Colorado Springs 2014.
Keynote Speaker. “Putting Lipstick on a Pig? The Future of Usability Testing” Symposium on Communicating Complex Information. Greenville, NC: 2013.
“Evaluating New Media as Digital Scholarship” Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Conference, Vancouver, WA, 2013.
“Comparing Complex Problem-Solving Using Print and Online Texts.” SIGDOC, Greenville, NC, 2013.
“Getting Started in Eye-Tracking: A Primer.” Society for Technical Communication Summit Conference. Chicago, 2012.
“Setting Up and Eye Tracking System” (with Kim Sulak). Society for Technical Communication Summit Conference. Chicago, 2012.
“(Re)Shaping Research: Eye Tracking in Technical Communication.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing Conference. St. Louis, 2012.
“Usability Testing Since the 90’s: Changing Paradigms.” World Usability Day: Visionaries in Usability EyeSay Webinar. Nov. 10, 2011.
“How Do We Design Sustainable Social Networks and Online Communities?” (Featured Speaker). Usability Professionals Association Conference. Atlanta, 2011.
“Designing a Sense of Belonging: ‘Habitus’ Mechanisms that Bind Members of Community Together.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, Atlanta, 2011.
“Designing Communities as Decision-Making Experiences.” (with Wendy Howard). Usability Professionals Association Conference. Munich, 2010.
“Evaluating Digital Scholarship in the Academy.” Rhetoric(s), Communication, and Information Design
"Accomodationist vs Constructionist Approaches to Research: A Position Statement for the Researcher-Practitioner Interaction Workshop." Researcher-Practitioner Interaction. The 28th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Atlanta, 2010.
“A Survey of Eleven Documentation System Alternatives.” (with Alicia Hatter). Society for Technical Communication Summit Conference. Dallas, 2010.Howard, Tharon. “Creating Social Networks and Online Communities that Last.” Society for Technical Communication Summit Conference. Dallas, 2010.
“Designing Communities as Decision-Making Experiences.” (with Wendy Howard). Usability Professionals Association Conference. Munich, 2010.Howard, Tharon. “Evaluating Digital Scholarship in the Academy.” Rhetoric(s), Communication, and Information Design Forum; College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities, Clemson University, 2010.
“Intentionally Biasing Users.” (with Alicia Hatter). Usability Professionals Association Conference. Munich, 2010.
“Who Watches: Evaluating Digital Scholarship in the Academy.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, Louisville, 2010.
Grants
“Series Editor Agreement Amendment: ATTW Series in Technical and Professional Communication.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, May 16, 2020.
“Series Editor Agreement: ATTW Series in Technical and Professional Communication.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, May 16, 2019.
“Series Editor Agreement for the ATTW Series in Technical and Professional Communication.” Taylor & Francis/Routledge, Oct. 20, 2016.
“2013 Amendment to Usability Testing of Educational Handbooks and Materials” Pearson Higher Education, Dec. 2013.
“December 2011 Amendment to Usability Testing of Educational Handbooks and Materials” Longman/Addison-Wesley Pearson Higher Education, Dec. 2011.
“Curriculum-Wide Expansion of the Cultural Literacies Across Media Program.” US Dept. of Education Office of Postsecondary Education, Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program. Feb. 2010. Under review.
"EthicsHub: A Distributed Ethics Community in Science, Mathematics and Engineering." (Kelly Smith, PI). National Science Foundation. June 2010. Under review.
"Institute for the Study of Cultural Literacies Across Media: A Concept Paper." United States Department of State. Oct. 2010. Under review.
"Multimedia Authoring Teaching & Research Facility Lab Infrastructure." Clemson University General Lab Infrastructure Funds, Aug. 2010. Funded.
"Teaching Africa to Special Needs Children in K-12: A Curriculum Development Workshop in Ghana for Educators of Special Needs Children." (with Constancio Nakuma). Fulbright-Hays Study Abroad Proposals, US Dept. of Education. Oct. 2010. Under review.
“Extension of 'Usability Testing of Educational Handbooks and Materials' to 2011.” Longman Publishers. Oct. 2010. Funded.
“Extension of 'Usability Testing of Educational Handbooks and Materials' to 2011.” Longman Publishers. Oct. 2010.
